Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
Henry Francis Lyte · 1834 · tune LAUDA ANIMA
Key of G · public domain
Words
To His feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King.
To our fathers in distress;
Praise Him still the same forever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Glorious in His faithfulness.
Well our feeble frame He knows;
In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Widely yet His mercy flows.
Ye behold Him face to face;
Sun and moon, bow down before Him,
Dwellers all in time and space:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace.
The story
Lyte wrote this in 1834 for his fishing parish at Brixham in Devon, thirteen years before he wrote Abide With Me in the same place. It is Psalm 103 kept close, and the third verse is the psalm almost word for word: like as a father pitieth his children, for he knoweth our frame. Lyte renders that as father-like He tends and spares us, well our feeble frame He knows. He was a sick man for most of his ministry and knew what a feeble frame was. The hymn has been sung at three royal weddings, which is a strange fate for something written for Devon fishermen, but the verse that earns its place is the quiet one about being known.
Chords in G
In the app you can move this to any key and it works out the capo for you.
Common questions
Who wrote Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven? Henry Francis Lyte wrote the words in 1834.
What tune is it sung to? LAUDA ANIMA, set here in the key of G.
What scripture is it built on? Psalm 103.
Is Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.
The psalm it came from
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven is Psalm 103 set to a tune. The psalm itself is here in full — King James, Berean Standard and Reina-Valera side by side, with a note on what it is doing and where it sits in the book.
Also set from Psalm 103: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Joachim Neander, 1680)
Themes
Psalms · Praise · Mercy